Making a Will

Coodes Solicitors / Personal Legal / Making a Will

Making a Will

Whether it is you or a loved one making a Will, you will be safe in our hands.

At Coodes Solicitors, we combine a practical approach to Will making with a warm, friendly service. We know that planning for the future after you are gone is a disheartening thought, but making a Will is the best way to provide for your family and give them peace of mind that they are respecting your final wishes.

With offices in Truro, Newquay, St Austell, Falmouth, Penzance, Holsworthy, Launceston and Liskeard, we are conveniently located and easily accessible for people across Cornwall and West Devon.

How our Will solicitors can help

We have made our Will writing service as straightforward as possible. We can:

Talk you and/or your loved one through your Will options in simple, understandable English
Advise you on the best ways to structure your Will to accurately reflect your wishes
Advise you on Inheritance Tax and using your Will to make your Estate more tax efficient
Advise you on other aspects of Will writing, such as:
- Appointing Executors (the people you will trust to deal with your money and property after you die)
- Setting up Trusts
- Appointing Guardians for your children
- Leaving money to charity
- Setting out your funeral plans
- Deciding who should look after your pets
We can draft your Will, ensuring that it clearly puts your wishes into words and minimising the risk of confusion about your wishes after you pass away
For most Wills, do all this for a fixed price
Store your Will for no extra cost
Make home visits in certain circumstances

We also regularly update Wills for individuals. Whether your current Will was written by us or not, we would be happy to take a look and provide advice.

Elderly client services

If you are growing older and need other lifetime planning advice or you are helping a loved one sort out their final affairs, we offer a bespoke Elderly Client Service designed to help with all your needs. As well as Will writing, we can help you create a Lasting Power of Attorney, manage Trusts, plan for later life care, and more.

Statutory Wills

If your loved one struggles to make decisions for themselves and cannot make their own Will, they may need a Statutory Will made on their behalf. We have dedicated Court of Protection experts who can help you make an application.

Wills for rural and agricultural families

We often work closely with our Rural Services team to help farming families, and agricultural or rural landowners across Cornwall and Devon with all their estate planning needs. We can help you structure your Estate so that land, property, businesses and other assets all pass to the right people as tax efficiently as possible, minimising the risk of family disputes and ensuring the future of the farm or Estate.

Fixed fee Wills

We offer fixed price Wills including:

Simple single Will (includes Will storage) – £250 + VAT
Simple mirror Wills (includes Will storage) – £350 +VAT

In addition, to comply with the Anti-Fraud Regulations, if we do not hold up to date identification documents for you, there will be a compliance fee to verify identity of £30.00 plus VAT per Testator.

For a detailed quote or to speak to one of our specialist lawyers regarding your Will. You could also contact one of the team at a Coodes office near you.

Get in touch with our will solicitors in Cornwall and West Devon

To arrange an initial discussion with one of our Will lawyers, give us a call on 0800 328 3282 or fill in our simple online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly.

We have local offices in Truro, Newquay, St Austell, Falmouth, Penzance, Holsworthy, Launceston and Liskeard. We can also arrange home visits in certain circumstances.

Why choose our Will solicitors to write your Will?

We have been independently recognised as one of the leading Wills teams in Cornwall by leading client guide Chambers and Partners.

Chambers and Partners has ranked us highly for the following services:

We have also been independently recognised by another leading client guide, the Legal 500 for our leading expertise in the area of Agriculture and Estates.

Many of our team, including our Wills, Probate and Trusts department manager, Sarah Cornish, are members of STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). STEP is an organisation for industry specialists in family inheritance and succession planning.

Our Elderly Client Services team are members of Solicitors for the Elderly, an organisation of lawyers who have a unique understanding and approach to the legal issues facing the older generation. Many of our team are also Dementia Friends and Dementia Champions and can provide sensitive, carefully tailored support and Will writing advice to people who have been diagnosed with dementia and their loved ones.

We also have a wide range of other accreditations, including the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and the Agricultural Law Association.

For more information about our qualifications and professional memberships, please visit our Accreditations page.

Should I make a Will?

Only by making a Will can you make it clear:

Who will benefit from your property, investments and savings and in what proportions
Which individuals you choose to wind up your affairs (your Executors)
Who you wish to appoint as Guardians for any children you have under the age of 18

We will advise you how you could structure your Estate in the most tax efficient manner and ensure you have dealt effectively with any farming and/or business interests you may have.

We offer a highly specialised service. A number of our team are members of STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and/or Solicitors for the Elderly, both of which require in depth knowledge and expertise.

What happens if I do not make a Will?

You will not be able to guarantee who will inherit your money and property after you pass away. When someone dies without making a Will (called ‘dying intestate’) their assets are distributed according to a law called the Rules of Intestacy.

If you are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner will automatically inherit most of your Estate. If you have children, they may also inherit if the value of your Estate is high enough.

Unmarried partners, step-children and friends cannot inherit under the Rules of Intestacy. For example, if you live with your partner but you are not married and the house is in your name only, they will not be able to inherit it. It will either go to your children or (if you do not have any) to another close relative.

Your loved ones may also have to pay more Inheritance Tax if you do not make a Will, which will eat into how much they can inherit.

Do I need a solicitor to make a Will?

It is always a good idea to talk to a solicitor before making a Will, even if it is very straightforward. It can be difficult to think through every possibility and put your wishes clearly into writing. Your Will must also fulfil strict legal requirements or it may be invalid. Recent High Court statistics show that over the past few years Will related disputes have significantly increased. This has been partly attributed to a rise in the number of people making DIY Wills rather than seeking the advice of a qualified lawyer. Homemade Wills are often challenged because:

They are not executed properly – the Testator (person who made the Will) and/or the witnesses may have made errors
The Testator may not realise that an Executor can also be a Beneficiary and end up choosing an Executor who is not able to properly administer the Estate
The Testator’s wishes are unclear and open to interpretation – for example, they leave a family heirloom to ‘my daughter’ when they actually have two daughters
The Testator fails to leave ‘contingencies’ – for example, if the intended Beneficiaries all pass away before the Testator’s death, who should inherit?
Someone may be able to successfully claim that the Testator lacked the mental capacity to make a Will because there was no lawyer to assess their capacity
Similarly, someone may be able to successfully claim that the Testator was coerced into making the Will because there was no lawyer to ensure they were acting of their own free will
They are fraudulent, for instance, the Testator has been tricked into signing a Will of which they had no knowledge

Our lawyers specialise in drafting Wills so can ensure that your Will is legally valid, accurate, and sets out your wishes clearly with little room for confusion. We are fully aware of all the possible ways a Will can be challenged and we will take careful steps to minimise the risks. We can also provide guidance on how to approach sharing your plans with your family to ensure they understand your intentions. This may give your family the opportunity to make their concerns known and we can take steps to defuse any conflict during your lifetime.

At what age should I make a Will?

So long as you are over 18 years old, every age is the ‘right’ age to make a Will. People of all ages can benefit from putting their final wishes into writing. We do not know where life will take us so it is always good to be prepared. Additionally, certain life events such as marriage can automatically revoke your Will and you will need to make a new one.

You may want to make or update your Will if:

You have just bought a home
You have recently had a baby
You are getting married or entering into a civil partnership
You are going through a divorce or civil partnership dissolution
You are remarrying, particularly if you have children from a previous relationship
You have step-children you want to provide for
You are retiring
You have come into some money, such as receiving an inheritance
You have been diagnosed with a life-changing or terminal illness
A loved one who you want to provide for has been diagnosed with a life-changing or terminal illness

How often should I update my Will?

You might want to think about updating your Will every time you go through an important life event, such as those listed above. This will ensure that your Will continues to reflect your true life circumstances.

You may also want to update your Will every few years regardless as this can minimise the risk of challenge after you have passed away. For example, if a person dies and their Will is decades old, their relatives may be able to bring successful legal action arguing that it is too out-of-date and does not reflect their true wishes.

Can I include funeral wishes in my Will?

Yes, your Will can be a good place to record your funeral wishes because they will be easy to find, particularly if your Executors will probably be the same people organising your funeral.

However, it is important to remember that your funeral wishes will not be legally binding, even if included in your Will. It may be worth discussing your wishes with your family during your lifetime as well as writing them into your Will to give you peace of mind that you have been heard and understood.

What if my relative cannot make their own Will?

If your loved one struggles to make their own decisions, for example, because of an illness such as Alzheimer’s, they may be unable to make their own Will. We have a dedicated team who can help you support family members who lack capacity and, if necessary, can help you apply to the Court of Protection to make a Statutory Will on their behalf.

For more information about this, please visit our Court of Protection page.

Can someone challenge my Will if they do not like it?

The benefit of using a specialist Will solicitor to draft your Will and keeping it up to date is that it will be more difficult to challenge. There are many ways someone can challenge a Will or claim against someone’s estate.

We can also help you if you are concerned that a loved one’s Will is going to be challenged or you are already facing a legal claim. For more information, please visit our Disputed Wills and Inheritance page.

Useful information

Alan Gates was very polite and helpful. He was very understanding and couldn't have been nicer to me, he was a real gentleman and a credit to the firm.

Sarah Cornish

Department Manager, Partner

Contact

sarah.cornish@coodes.co.uk

01579 325793

MEET THE TEAM

Making a Will

Personal Legal

You may also be interested in

Useful information

Making a Will

How our Will solicitors can help

Elderly client services

Statutory Wills

Wills for rural and agricultural families

Fixed fee Wills

Get in touch with our will solicitors in Cornwall and West Devon

You may also be interested in

Useful information

Sarah Cornish

Contact